First Look: The Double Dealer at The Orange Tree Theatre

First look images have been released for the major London revival of William Congreve’s rarely performed restoration comedy The Double Dealer, directed by Selina Cadell.

A house party on a sultry autumn evening. A marriage has been arranged between Cynthia and Mellefont.

All should be plain sailing, but the young couple must contend with the jealousies, vanities and vagaries of a host of brilliantly drawn comic characters. Above all they must overcome the Machiavellian machinations of Maskwell – the eponymous Double Dealer.

In a world of artifice and guile, how are we to judge whose behaviour is beyond reproach?

This delightful restoration comedy, written by Congreve at the age of only 24, provides an irresistible foretaste of the kind of iconic characters which appear in his subsequent great comedies, The Way of the World and Love for Love.

The Double Dealer is at The Orange Tree theatre until 26th January 2019.

The Double Dealer Orange Tree Theatre c. Robert Day

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Dharmesh Patel Careless and Lloyd Everitt Mellefont in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Dharmesh Patel Careless and Lloyd Everitt Mellefont in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Zoë Waites Cynthia Jonathan Broadbent and Simon Chandler in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Zoë Waites Cynthia Jonathan Broadbent and Simon Chandler in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Simon Chandler Sir Paul Plyant in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Simon Chandler Sir Paul Plyant in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Paul Reid Lord Froth in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Paul Reid Lord Froth in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Edward MacLiam Maskwell in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Edward MacLiam Maskwell in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Edward MacLiam Maskwell and Zoë Waites Lady Touchwood in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

Edward MacLiam Maskwell and Zoë Waites Lady Touchwood in THE DOUBLE DEALER by William Congreve Orange Tree Theatre photo by Robert Day

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